Sea Life Off World's Remotest Island: Photos

This is the James Clark Ross, a ship run by the British Antarctic Survey that carried Sue Scott and other researchers on a journey to Tristan da Cunha, a remote island and archipelago in the South Atlantic. The journey was funded in part by the Pew Charitable Trusts. Over the past decade, Scott has made dozens of dives in the rough water surrounding the island and helped chronicle the unique life there. She's based in northwestern Scotland but finds herself repeatedly drawn to the island — this was her eighth trip — and is one of the few experts on the sea life there. Until now, nobody had seen what lurks just beyond the range of scuba divers, at a depth of about 150 to 300 meters (492 to 984 feet) beneath the ocean's surface.

Sue Scott

This is the larvae of a rock lobster (Jasus Tristani) which, at this life stage, is called a puerulus. When it was first found, few of the biologists on board knew what it was.

Sue Scott

The seas slugs were collected from the ocean floor near the island of Gough, which is part of the Tristan archipelago.

Sue Scott

This little guy was collected by a seafloor trawl near Gough, which is part of the Tristan archipelago. Like all hermit crabs, it uses the shells of other animals in which to live.

Sue Scott

These cup corals were found in large numbers in the waters near Tristan da Cunha, at depths between 150 to 300 meters (492 to 984 feet).

Sue Scott

The cup corals appear to thrive in the waters beyond the reach of divers, making due with the scant light that penetrates.

Sue Scott

This is the island of Tristan da Cunha, with the settlement — known as Edinburgh of the Seven Seas — on the right. On the left is a volcano that erupted in 1961, and the scar from a recent rock fall. The island has a population of about 260 residents.

Sue Scott

Recently, islanders built a replica of a traditional Tristan house made of volcanic rock with a roof thatched from New Zealand flax. The house is nestled between lava flows from the island's 1961 eruption.

Sue Scott

This larval eel head was photographed by a mid-water trawl, suspended above the seafloor off of Tristan.

Sue Scott

After using sonar imaging to search for flat areas around the seafloor, the camera system is lowered to 150 to 300 meters (492 to 984 feet).